A Gummed Up Experiment
by ShadowAlchemist503
Summary: An 8 year old Marshall Abadeer moves into town with his mother, and moves into a small neighborhood in an apartment, and along the way notices a strangely pink haired boy. They quickly become friends, but as time goes on, Marshall notices Bubba becomes ill fairly often for no reason, along with his parents weird grudge against Marshall. (eventual boyxboy)
1. Chapter 1

Marshall woke up to the sound of their neighbors yelling at each other, yet again. It was only his fifth day in the new apartment and he was already tired of it. At this point he wished he could duct tape his ears and cover them with pillows, because frankly, the yelling was giving him a headache. "Just shut up already," He grumbled, pulling the covers over his eyes.

Barely a minute later, his door slammed open and his covers were pulled down, revealing his mother, who was wearing a menacing smile. He groaned as she pulled the curtains aside, letting the sun filter in, warming up every surface it touched. "Rise and shine Marshall Lee, today's going to be a busy day." He glared heavily at her, and she simply smiled at him again, setting down several unpacked boxes by the side of Marshall's bed. "I know we've only been here a week," she said, huffing as she set one of the heavier boxes on his wooden rocking chair, "But we need to unpack or else these will stay packed forever."

Marshall sighed, and asked, "Do I have to? Can't you do it?" His mother shook her head, and sternly said, "Marshall, you are a big boy aren't you? Only little boys need their mama's help to put away toys and clothes. Now go do it and don't get in my way. I'm going to be putting things away all day and I don't want you to help." With that, she gave him a small kiss on the forehead, and sweeped out of the room, her black hair swinging behind her.

He grumbled as he hopped off the bed, and went to go change into a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. After that was done, he started opening up boxes, and started filing away his toys, many of them legos. He cried out in pain when he happened to step on a fallen lego, and threw that one under his bed in a fit of anger. "Stupid lego..." He muttered, as he continued putting away more of his toys, not bothering to search for the lego he threw.

About an hour later, Marshall felt the first rumblings of his stomach, and decided after an hour of hard work and a minimal amount of distraction from his toys, that he ought to eat. When he exited his room into the living room where his mom was, he asked, "Hey mom, what do we have to eat?" She stood up from her crouched position and pointed to the fridge saying, "Go look." So he did, and the only thing he found was a jar of dill pickles along with some leftover sushi from yesterdays outing. But wanting neither options for breakfast, he shouted, "We don't have anything to eat!"

By the time he turned around, his mother was already walking over to him with something in her hand. "Here, take this and go buy something to eat. There's a McDonalds across the street so go get a burger there or something." She handed him a ten dollar bill, and pushed him to the door. He slipped his shoes on and shouted a quick 'bye!' before slamming the front door, and eagerly rushing down the apartment building stairs as fast as he could. He nearly fell down the stairs, in his hurry, but still didn't even bother to slow down. How could he with such freedom?

This was the first time he went anywhere without his mom, and obviously he was nervous. He was only seven, so anything could happen to him. He was pretty sure nothing would, but you could never tell with those creeps and murderers lurking around every corner. So of course, he took precaution, and made sure to walk fast, and to not stand near the curb. If he kept that up, he felt sure no harm would come to him.

After only about two minutes of walking, Marshall reached the large and colorful McDonald's area, and immediately decided he wanted something sweet, like a pie or cookie of some sort. And maybe some juice. So in preparation, he took out his ten dollar bill, and waited behind the long line of people who were waiting to order. When it was his turn, he ordered for a chocolate chip cookie, and some apple juice. Unfortunately they did not have any apple juice so he got milk instead.

As he sat by himself sipping at his milk, he noticed a boy with strangely vibrant pink hair and his face scrunched up in a frown. He said something then stormed away from two people who looked like his parents and walked over to a table nearby Marshall. The boy was glaring straight ahead, obviously annoyed. Marshall stared at the boy and asked, "Why are you staring at me?" The boy startled and looked momentarily confused before furrowing his brows and saying, "I wasn't staring at you."

Marshall stared at him suspiciously and said, "It seemed like you were." "Well I wasn't." snapped the boy, now crossing his arms. "And why's your hair so pink? And what's your name?" Marshall asked, unable to stop himself. The boy stared at him, and slowly said, "I don't really know why my hair is like this. And my name is Bubba. Why?" Marshall this time really couldn't help himself; he burst out into laughter and said, "Bubba? Really? That sounds like the name of a whale!"

Bubba huffed and glared heavily at Marshall. "You're a brat!" He shouted, just as his parents sat down. Marshall saw his parents reprimand him, and he couldn't help but feel a little guilty. But as soon as he saw Bubba glare at him again, this time with much more venom, his guilt quickly melted away, into something closely resembling annoyance. Marshall shortly after resumed eating, and only a few minutes later, finished his food. When he got up to throw away the trash, he met his gaze with Bubba's, and noticed how pink his irises were too. Bubba's blank expression of course turned back to a glare in almost less than a second, and he looked away, eating his cheap, greasy meal, leaving Marshall standing there, wondering how one could be so _pink._

By the time he left and got back to his apartment, he found his mom still cleaning, putting away some encyclopedias along with a few others on their old book shelf. He smiled and went to his room, to go play with with and make a mess of toys he probably just cleaned and put away. But he didn't mind, he'd just clean it up later.

x

Later that night, while his mom was laying on the couch taking a nap, Marshall decided to go outside and venture to the nearby park he saw a few days ago on the way to the store. He figured nothing could happen to him right? The park is safe, and there'll be other children there if he gets lonely or scared or something along those lines. Plus what if he saw that kid from earlier? He seemed so interesting, and he entertained Marshall quite a lot during his little trip to McDonalds. Bubba was his name right? He felt kind of sorry for Bubba, considering that's his name and all. Marshall felt kind of lucky at times like these with such a plain name.

He grabbed a chair and pushed it against the bookcase, where his mom had happened to leave her keys. He stood up on it, and grabbed the keys from the very top shelf. He only took one off, which was the apartment key, and set the other keys back, and got back down. He blew a kiss to his mom and pulled his favorite sweater on along with some boots knowing it'll be a bit chilly outside, and exited, locking the door behind him. He cautiously crept down the now seemingly much emptier and dim lighted stairs. He realized this was probably not the greatest idea, considering how creepy it was. But he was too far gone with the idea, plus he secretly hoped he would meet Bubba again, despite the almost nil chance.

For about a half an hour, Marshall walked on the dimly lit streets, with only a few cars passing by every now and then. It felt almost too deserted, and Marshall felt an impending sense of danger that he couldn't quite put his finger on. But he tried his best to ignore it and continued on to the park, which was only a few streets away now. When he reached the park, he noticed a few scattered people, mostly adults, by themselves, staring strangely off into the distance. One of them noticed him, but quickly looked back down at their phone, which Marshall found to make him less uneasy.

As he continued walking through the small, twisting paths, he finally reached the playground, and settled on one of the swings. Now that he sat out here in the dark pretty much all alone, he felt pretty stupid for going out. Who would be out at the park at 9pm on a Thursday night? As far as Marshall could tell, no one. So, he figured, there wasn't really a point for staying at the park then if he was just going to be by himself at such a dark and scary hour. But just as he got up, a small noise coming from the nearby plastic playhouse stopped him in his tracks. He cautiously and quietly turned around, and tiptoed to it. He leaned up against it, and went as far as to push one of the plastic windows open just slightly.

Marshall stood there still and straight against the house for a whole other minute before he heard a few small noises, that almost sounded like someone was crying. Deciding to throw caution to the wind, Marshall slowly opened the small plastic door open, peering into the tiny room. He was surprised to find a tiny pink figure angrily crying into his hands, a figure that looked strangely familiar. "Bubba? Is that you?" Bubba immediately snapped his head up, and stared at Marshall, his face quickly contorting into a frown. "Have you come here to bother me again? Do you like to see me angry, you...you sicko?"

Marshall couldn't help but feel a bit hurt and said, "No, I don't like to see you angry! And don't call me a sicko!" They glared at each other for a moment before Marshall continued, "So why are you here crying? Where are your mom and dad?" Bubba sighed and explained, "I wasn't listening to them cuz I didn't wanna take some dumb medicine so they yelled at me and I ran away. But I'm only running away for the night, not for very long..." Marshall stared curiously at Bubba before asking, "Do you wanna stay at my place tonight? It's not too far and my mom can always drop you off in the morning."

Bubba met eyes with Marshall, and despite looking unsure, he agreed. "So what's your name?" Bubba asked, collecting himself once more. Marshall smiled and said, "Marshall Lee Abadeer at your service." Bubba gave a little smile back and said, "Hello Marshall Lee Abadeer. Will you now take me to your place?" Marshall obliged and Bubba stood up and wobbled a bit from sitting for so long, and followed him out of the plastic house into the cold. "So which way is your place?" Bubba asked, looking around. Marshall pointed in a general direction and simply said, "That way."

They walked in silence for a while, Bubba wrapped up in his own thoughts, and Marshall wrapped up in his. How should he tell his mom? He knew he wasn't supposed to go out past sundown, and he especially knew he wasn't supposed to bring back strangers. But technically Bubba wasn't a stranger; they did know each others names and they had met before, albeit earlier that day, and plus he could always say he just went outside into the stairwell and found Bubba sitting there all lonesome couldn't he? As long as Bubba knew how to lie, he didn't think he'd get in too much trouble.

So by the time he got back, he unlocked the door, and put his fingers on his lips, motioning for Bubba to be as quiet as possible. When he unlocked the door, he tiptoed in, and made sure his mom was asleep. When he heard soft snores coming from the living room, he motioned for Bubba to follow him. He closed the front door behind him and set the key back on the shelf, the chair still being in place, and immediately froze when he heard his mom stir. After a moment or so, he heard her mutter something, and heard the couch creaking. He swiftly crouched down and sat on the chair, trying to look as unsuspicious as possible. Obviously getting frustrated, Bubba finally whispered, "Why don't we just make a run for it to your bedroom? Let's just pretend we're asleep or something!"

Marshall nodded in the dark and got down from the chair and pulled Bubba by the wrist into his bedroom; he didn't dare look back for the fear of the wrath of his mother. He rattled his door open and quickly got inside, pulling Bubba in with him. Immediately Marshall asked, "How am I gonna tell her you're here without getting grounded for a month!?" Bubba thoughtfully looked at Marshall and stuffed his hands in his pockets and said, "I think...you should let me sleep in your closet and in the morning say you're going out to play and then when you're mom is busy, I'll follow you outside. Then you'll come back soon after with me and say you've found a friend and ask if I can stay over. Do you think it'll work?" He smirked when Marshall was nodding speechlessly and asked, "It's a good plan isn't it?"

So they followed Bubba's seemingly brilliant plan and Bubba got into the closet and slept there for the night, while Marshall settled into his bed, and whispered a goodnight. He surprisingly quickly succumbed to sleep, easily exhausted from all the walking he had done that night. Only about ten minutes later, Marshall's mom opened the door, the hallway light spilling into the room, and softly smiled when she saw him snuggled so sweetly into his favorite stuffed bear with his head buried in the pillows. She crossed the room and gently kissed his forehead before exiting out of the room to head back to bed.

The next morning followed by his mom slamming the door open and announcing that breakfast is ready, and Marshall groaned and sat up. "Don't roll your eyes mister, you'll be very happy once you've had this breakfast." He sighed and said, "Okay mom, I'll be out in a minute. I'm gonna get dressed." She smiled cheerily and and exited, shutting the door behind her. He rolled out of bed and practically fell off it, and swiftly went to go lock the door. He then went over to his closet and opened one of the doors, to find Bubba curled up in himself, snoring softly. Marshall crouched forward and shook him, and whispered, "Bubba, my mom's awake."

Bubba blinked slowly, squinting when the mass amount of sunlight hit his eyes and turned away, a grimace on his face. "Good morning," Marshall said, slightly amused at his grumpiness. "Good morning Marshall...did you say your mom's awake?" Marshall nodded and started to explain, "She wants to give me breakfast but after that we'll start your plan okay?" Bubba sighed and nodded, muttering a 'hurry up' as Marshall stood up and got out, shutting the closet door behind him. He then went to go to the kitchen, and sat with his mom, and said thank you for the food before scarfing it down like he was starving. She then pointed it out, and trying to think of an excuse for his fast eating, said that he was just really hungry. She shrugged and figured he was a growing boy, so it didn't really matter.

After they finished eating, his mom took their plates to the kitchen and began to clean them, leaving Marshall and Bubba to start their plan. "Hey mom? Can I go outside and play for a while?" He asked, tugging on his mom's shirt. She said, "Sure sweetie, but be back within a couple hours okay?" He nodded and smiled, and promptly rushed to his bedroom, saying he needed to put on his shoes before he left. His mother shook her head, thinking he probably forgot his shoes were by the front door.

"Okay Bubba," He loudly whispered, slamming his door behind him, "It's time to start our plan. My mom's doing the dishes and we don't have much time!" Bubba got out from the closet asked, "How am I going to get from here to the front door?" Marshall stared at him and said, "Just follow me, I think I know how to do this."

Marshall twisted the door open, and peeked out, seeing that his mom was unloading the dishwasher. He motioned for Bubba to follow behind him, and they both creeped down the hallway, as quietly as possible. Bubba glanced forward noticing that Marshall's mom was almost done and started to panic. "What if she sees us?" He whispered into Marshall's ear. All he did was turn his head and press a finger to his lips, and kept going. After a few more paces, they reached the living room, what Marshall would label as the danger zone. Quietly and quickly they crept, until they reached the short distance to the front door. But as Marshall was about to open the door, his mom must've heard him or something, and she turned around and said, "Don't forget your shoes..." but dropped off mid sentence when she saw Bubba creeping behind Marshall. Almost instantaneously, Marshall saw his mom go from a blank face, to surprise, to confusion, then lastly, to anger. "Marshall! What is going on?"

Both Marshall and Bubba felt their heart thumping in their chest, and Bubba backed up behind Marshall, trying to hide himself. "Um nothing mom, I, uh, I just found him outside and he was kind of crying, and I, I didn't want to leave him alone. That's all." His mom stared at him suspiciously, looking both him and Bubba down. "Is he telling the truth?" She asked, making Bubba jump. He nodded and remained silent, still hiding behind Marshall. She sighed and asked, "Do your parents know you're here?" Bubba shook his head this time, meeting eyes with her. "Listen kid, this is putting me in a really bad position, so I'll just call your parents to pick you up okay? Just wait here until they come. Do you know your number or address?" Bubba quietly said, "No, I don't. Could you please just drop me off at the park? I'll know how to get home from there." Marshall's mom furrowed her brows, but obliged, and told them to go downstairs to her car.

They drove in silence, and Marshall and Bubba kept glancing at each other. Bubba mouthed 'I'm sorry' and Marshall shrugged, mouthing that it was okay. Once they got to the park, they parked and Bubba said thank you, and exited, walked down the street, disappearing after a couple minutes around the corner. They rode back in silence and Marshall wondered if he'd ever see Bubba again.

**A/N**

**Hello! Please let me know what you think of this story, and if there's anything I should change or add, or any sentence structures or words I misspelled and need to fix. Also, this'll be a long fic, around 34 chapters or so. Ily all so much and thank you for reading :)**


	2. Chapter 2

Two weeks later, after the whole ordeal with Bubba, it was time to get ready and start his first day of third grade. He and his mom were finally settled in and most of their belonging were put into place, and Marshall was actually starting to look their little apartment, especially his bedroom, since now he had his own little TV. He admired it as he got dressed into some jeans and a t-shirt, and looked away when his mom came in to bring some cereal to him. He thanked her, and began to chew the plain cereal, and slurped down the milk shortly after. He set the bowl on his desk and went to go brush his teeth and hair, which only took about 5 minutes. When he was down, he went out to the living room and shortly after he and his mom left to go to school and work.

After only about ten minutes, his mom dropped him off and she said, "Good luck sweetie! Don't forget your lunch!" He blushed, slightly embarrassed from the attention, and hugged her goodbye. He then walked into his new school, and looked around the new environment, wondering where to go. He then saw a big group of students near what looked like the p.e. area with them being sorted into their grade and class. Marshall walked over there, brown lunch bag in hand, and sat down next to a brown haired girl, who looked about the same age as him. "Is this area for third graders?" She nodded and asked, "Are you new? I don't think I've ever seen you before." He smiled and said, "Yeah! I am. What's your name?" She smiled back and said, "My name is Tyler."

They were quieted down when a teacher entered into their area and announced, "Welcome back, and welcome to those of you who are new! I and two other teachers will be one of the teachers you will be in for the rest of the year. Now, for my class, I'll start calling out names, so please line up. First, Marshall Lee Abadeer!" Marshall stood up, and walked over to the wrinkling lady, and stood behind her. Then, she called a few more names, and they lined up behind him, a couple of them talking to each other rapidly and quietly. Marshall only then perked up when he heard, "Bubba Gumball!" and blinked in confusion when he saw Bubba stand up and walk forward to stand in line. He waved to Marshall who waved back, and practically stared at him, thinking this must be the biggest coincidence ever in his life. When he met up with him later on the way to their class, Marshall asked, "You go to school here?" Bubba nodded and said, "I have ever since pre-school. We got a really good teacher this year, I heard last year we'd be lucky to get into this class." Marshall nodded and asked, "What makes her so special?" Bubba began to explain, "They said she takes us on a lot of field trips and that she's really nice! I hope they're right...She looks kind of scary."

When they got to class, they were told they could sit anywhere they liked, so Marshall sat next to Tyler and across from Bubba, and also across from some other boy named Brendon who also had black hair, but had a darker complexion. Apparently, Bubba and Brendon were already really close friends, and had sat next to each other since first grade. "They're pretty much like brothers," Tyler said. "Are they actually brothers?" Marshall asked, as he doodled in pen on his hand. "No we're not actually brothers," Brendon piped up with, continuing to say, "We're just best friends!" Their conversation was cut short though when the teacher, who introduced herself as Mrs. Treetrunks, said, "Okay class! We're going to start our day by making a name tag okay? Make it as colorful or as boring as you like, just as long as I can read it!" She then began to pass out white strips of construction paper and a bag of markers to each table, and told them to begin.

As soon as Marshall had chosen the colors he liked which consisted of red, green, yellow, and purple, he looked over and found that Tyler was already scribbling her names in all the colors of the rainbow. He looked forward and saw that Bubba was drawing a design in the corners of the paper and that Brendon was tracing the card in black. Marshall then looked down at his paper, and decided to write his name in red, and then outline it in purple and green. When he was done, which was fairly quickly, he saw that about half the class was done as well, including no one at his table. So he sat there in silence, waiting, until they were all done.

Progressively throughout the day, they did their own short introductions, went over what they were going to do this year, had lunch, and got assigned some homework to make at least one friend, and have them write a paragraph long letter to you. Marshall handed it to Bubba, and told him to write it. When he was done, they exchanged, and Bubba gave him his homework for Marshall to write a paragraph on. When he finished, they both put the homework in their backpack, ready to go. Since it was nearly the end of the day, the students began to talk, and Bubba went back over to Brendon and began to talk with him. So Marshall turned to Tyler and asked, "So who'd you get to write you a letter?" Tyler pointed behind her and said, "Some girl named Cake. Apparently she has a sister only a year younger who goes here named Fionna! Cake seems pretty cool." Marshall smiled and said, "I got Bubba to write mine. He seems pretty friendly." Tyler agreed, and so they talked for a bit, about what they each like and what their favorite subjects are and all that.

When school got to a close, there was a sudden commotion in the classroom, and Marshall noticed that Bubba was on the ground, unconscious. Mrs. Treetrunks was calling Bubba's home, asking for them to pick him up. After a couple moments, Bubba got back up, pretty weak and looking like was about to fall down, asked if he could lie down somewhere. The teacher said yes, and told him his parents were coming to pick him up. Marshall walked over to him as soon as he managed to sit on the couch in the back in the class and asked if he was okay. Bubba nodded and said, "I'll be okay soon. This happens sometimes." Marshall asked why and Bubba simply shrugged and said, "I don't know why, my parents say I have a rare condition...I don't know, but it's annoying." Marshall nodded and took a seat next to him as Bubba laid his head down and began to rest. Marshall hoped he would be okay.

**A/N Thank you so much for the reviews and follows, they honestly mean so much to me :). Please let me know what you think about this story, if there's anything I should fix. I know I'm not the best writer, so I'm sure there's a few here mistakes here and there! Anyways, off topic but I went to Anime Expo and cosplayed as Castiel from Supernatural (if you haven't watched it before please do, and if you watch it and happen to be a Destiel shipper, please message me so we can fangirl!) but yeah a lot of people recognized me :). Also I noticed a pretty good amount of Gumlee fanart which was amazing! I love you all so much and thank you 3**


	3. Chapter 3

Over the course of the next couple months, Marshall and Bubba became closer friends, and Marshall soon forgot about the incident on the first day of school. Most people did infact, and Bubba has been pretty healthy ever since. A couple days after the incident, he said all that happened when he got home was that he had to take some medicine and slept for a long time and then he pretty much felt all better. This worried the students and teachers a lot less, and it was rarely even mentioned. Especially now that Halloween was on the horizon. Pretty much everyone in school was talking about what they were going to wear and what others were going to wear and who would be trick or treating with who.

But soon enough, mixed in with the talk of Halloween, a new sort of talk spread, saying that Brendon and Bubba were boyfriends. Marshall didn't see why that was such a big deal, and that it probably wasn't even true. "Is it true?" Marshall asked one day, after Bubba was once again accused of being gay by some annoying kid. Bubba blushed and glared at Marshall saying, "No, of course it's not true." Bubba then stormed off somewhere, probably to go to the bathroom or wherever. Marshall then turned to Tyler and asked, "Do you think he is?" She shrugged and said, "Dunno."

So later that day, on the way to the bathroom, Marshall heard some interesting talk in the boys bathroom. He leaned against the door, and heard the unmistakable voice of Bubba. "Okay Brendon...you know how people think you and I are...b-boyfriends?" He stuttered out the last part obviously nervous, "Well you know...would it be so bad if it was true? Like...if we were?" There was a long stretch of silence before Brendon said, "It would be really bad Bubba. I would get made fun of, plus I'm not even gay so it wouldn't even happen." Bubba audibly sighed and said, "Hey um, I have something to say...I think-I think I like you?" There was an even longer stretch of silence before Brendon said, "I don't want to be your friend anymore," and left, giving Marshall little time to jump back from the door to make it look like he wasn't listening. Marshall stood there in shock, almost not being able to believe the rumors were true, well, at least partially, since only Bubba seemed to be the gay one. Marshall walked in and looked at Bubba, who was just sitting in a partially opened stall. "Hey, did you just say that you liked Brendon?" Tears started to well up in Bubba's eyes and he exclaimed, "I was just kidding around! I don't like him! At all! I was just being stupid!"

Marshall didn't really believe him, but still leaned down and hugged him. "You should just tell him that." Bubba pulled away and looked up at him, asking, "Do you think that'll work?" Marshall helped, and silently, they both stood up. "Hey, I actually have to use the bathroom, so I'll see you in a couple minutes. Tell me how it goes okay?" Marshall said while opening a stall. Bubba waved and exited.

xXx

"So wait, he said _what?"_

"He said he _like_ likes him."

"I knew it! No wonder his hair is so pink. He must be like super gay." A girl said, giggling loudly, making the other three girls in the group laugh. When the class door opened and Bubba came in, the girls started to giggle, and one of them pointed at him. People were either staring or completely looking the other way. After he walked several steps to get to Brendon to apologize, one boy shouted, "Brendon doesn't like you! Fag!" The group of girls laughed again, making Bubba blush. He glared at Brendon, who immediately looked away. He kept walking forward, and took his assigned seat next to Brendon, which made the girls laugh even harder. About a minute later, Marshall and Tyler came in, and walked over to take a seat across from Bubba and Brendon. "Be careful," The same boy from a minute ago whispered to Marshall, "You might catch his gayness." Marshall furrowed his brows and looked at Bubba, to see him blushing with his arms crossed, and Brendon on the farthest edge of his seat as possible.

Suddenly, the teacher walked back into the classroom, having come from another class where she was discussing something with a teacher, and noticed Bubba's distress and peoples laughter. She stepped forward and asked, "What is going on here?" When no one volunteered any information, she said, "Well whatever any of you are doing, stop it!" She then went to the front of the class and began writing something on the board. Since her attention was drawn away, Marshall reached across the desk and tugged at Bubba's wrist, "Are you okay? Did you...talk to Brendon?" Bubba glared at him and crossed his arms muttering, "What do you think happened?"

As class progressed, and it finally was the end the day, Bubba tried to escape as quick as he could. Unfortunately, he was cornered at the handball court by the kid from earlier, who seemed to be relentless. Bubba shrunk beneath him, even though the kid was physically smaller than him, and wondered what he was going to do. "Listen," Bubba started, "I'm not-" He was interrupted by a light but startling poke on the chest. "I don't care what you got to say," The kid said, "But you made my good friend Brendon weirded out with you saying your confession or whatever, so you're getting what you deserve." His fist was interrupted when there was a loud, "Stop!"

They both looked over, and saw Marshall, breathless and angry. Trying to think of something on the spot Marshall yelled, "You know, I was in the bathroom when I heard them talking! It wasn't even Bubba who said he was gay!" Deciding he could care less about Brendon, he looked over at Bubba and said, "It was Brendon, not Bubba! I heard Brendon say he likes Bubba. Always has I guess..." Bubba stared at him in horror, and the kid looked at them in confusion. He pulled back and looked down at the ground, muttering a quiet apology and ran to the front gates, probably to go back home with his parents.

After a moment Bubba looked up at Marshall, a mixture of confusion and anger in his eyes. "Marshall, how could you?" He asked dismally, sliding to the ground. "Don't you mean 'thank you'?! I practically saved your life!" Bubba glared icily at him, and immediately got up. "No, I don't mean thank you! You just made that boy think that Brendon's the gay one! He's gonna get bullied for the rest of the year because of you!" Marshall stepped closer to Bubba, now trying to be intimidating, "So you'd rather be the gay one and be bullied and laughed at all your life? It's because you're really gay aren't you!?" Bubba shrank underneath him and looked at his shoes. "I'm not," He said, barely above a whisper.

At that moment, Marshall turned around and yelled, "I'm never going to help you again Bubba! No wonder Brendon doesn't like you!" He threw his fists at his side, and tried to calm down. Not hearing a reply, he walked forwards to the gate, not feeling an inch of regret, only feeling angry at how ungrateful Bubba was. Why was he even his friend? He wondered about it as he walked to his moms car, and decided, from that point on, he didn't want to be Bubba's friend anymore.


	4. Chapter 4

That very night Marshall sat down with his mom at dinner, shovelling down spaghetti, with a slow yet steady stream of tomato sauce dribbling down his chin. His focus from his food was pulled away when he felt his moms piercing stare on his back and turned around, bringing his pink plastic chair with him. "What's wrong mom?" He asked, through a large mouthful of spaghetti. She formed her mouth into a thin line and as soon as he finished that bite, she practically attacked his face with a wet napkin saying, "You have food all over your face! Nobody wants to see that." After a couple of minutes of wiping all the food smudges, she sat down across from him and asked, "By the way sweetie, how was your day? I seemed to have forgotten to ask."

He stared at her, wondering if it was just a mom thing to go from angry to concerned in less than a second, and quietly said, "Not that good..." She frowned and asked, "Why? What happened?" He took another slurp of his noodles to prepare himself and began to explain, "You know Bubba? I'm pretty sure he likes this kid named Brendon but he got made fun of when people found out, so I stood up to one of the bullies, but Bubba was totally ungrateful! He said I'm gonna make this stupid Brendon kid get bullied for the rest of the year because of what I said!"

His moms eyebrows disappeared in her hairline, surprised by this newfound fact about Bubba. Setting it aside for the moment, she asked, "So what did you say...?" Marshall frowned and crossed his arms, "Doesn't matter what I said." Before she was about to ask him again, and scold him, saying it in fact _does_ matter, they heard the doorbell ring followed by a short knock. So she got up and went to get it, but when she opened the door, she found someone she would've never expected. Beneath her moderately tall stature was the very person they were talking about, shivering and staring at the floor. "Sorry to bother, but I wanted to say sorry to Marshall for something I said..." He began.

Before he could say anymore, Marshall's mom ushered him in, inviting him to sit down on their leather couch, trying to help him get comfortable. His fearful eyes glanced up at her, and then flicked over to Marshall. Marshall at the very least looked genuinely surprised, and a little bit angry. "Hi Marshall," Bubba muttered, the two simply staring at eachother. "Hey Bubba," He muttered back, taking a seat across from him in a wooden chair.

The three of them sat there for a minute in awkward silence, before Bubba opened his mouth and began to profusely apologize, "I'm so sorry for what I said to you earlier, I know I should've been nice to you, and should've said thank you. I even told my parents what happened and they got really really angry so they sent me over here to apologize. Please Marshall, please.." He broke out into tears, obviously anxiety ridden, and tried wiping them away before his eyes got too puffy. Marshall suddenly felt a little guilty for making Bubba feel so bad and said, "Listen, it's okay! I wasn't very nice to you either so we're even right?"

They sat there for another minute before Bubba smiled and agreed. They both got up and hugged each other before sitting back down began chatting, as if the little drama that just happened didn't actually occur. Marshall's mom will always be astounded by the emotional resilience of kids these days.

After a few moments, Bubba mentioned, "Oh, and my mom invited you over tonight, as sort of an apology," He glanced up at Marshall's mom and asked, "Is that okay Mrs. Abadeer?" She blinked, surprised by the foreign use of 'Mrs. Abadeer' and quickly told him to call her Hana. "So...is it okay Hana? If Marshall comes over? My parents said they really want to meet him." Hana thought about it for a second and decided, why not? What's the worst that could happen? Bubba's parents sounded like nice people, even though that was worrisome that they sent him all the way over here to apologize for such a little thing. She said yes, and Marshall quickly cheered and practically bounced into his bedroom, with Bubba following shortly behind.

Once Marshall stuffed his backpack to the brim with as many toys as possible along with the bare minimum essentials, he bounced back out into the living room, Bubba following closely behind him. When Hana noticed them, she asked, "Do you want me to drive you there or are your parents waiting outside?" Bubba shuffled nervously and said, "I had to walk here so...do you mind driving us there?" Hana again wondered if she made the right decision to let Marshall go with Bubba, noticing how his parents actually made him walk here just to apologize over a stupid little fight. She nodded warily and went to grab her keys and her shoes, and once she was ready, they all left, Hana locking the door behind her while Marshall and Bubba excitedly talked about what they were going to do.

The conversation lasted the whole way there, finally ending when Hana arrived at the address Bubba gave her, and they all exited the car. Hana furrowed her brows when she noticed how sketchy the house looked, and how there was even a boarded up window on what looked like the attic. She looked around further and saw the tall, untrimmed weeds, practically spilling over onto the little concrete path that led to the derailed looking front steps. She looked around some more until she heard the front door creak open followed by a feminine, "Hello Mrs. Abadeer!" Hana froze in her place and turned around, greeting the brown haired woman with a smile. Behind her was a tall, yet almost unhealthily skinny looking man who looked to be about 15 years older than the woman, and nodded his head at Hana.

Hana internally felt that these were pretty much all flashing neon signs, saying 'danger! danger! Things go on this house that Marshall could probably get killed in!' But deciding to have faith in these people, seeing as they raised such a kind, albeit strange looking child, greeted them back. She turned around and motioned for Marshall and Bubba to come forward from where they were playing with something in the dirt. Bubba looked up first and grabbed Marshall by the wrist, bringing him upright immediately. They looked over and saw Bubba's parents looming on the steps, smiling kindly at Bubba. Bubba turned around and said, "Thank you Mrs. Ab- Hana, I mean." He smiled and ran up the stairs, Marshall a few steps behind him. "Hey, say goodbye!" Hana called out to Marshall, making him swivel around, him almost falling off the top step.

He ran back down and hugged her and said, "Thank you for letting me come over mom! I love you! I'll see you tomorrow!" And with that, he left, and disappeared inside the house. Hana only hoped she could trust Bubba's parents.

X

After they got inside, they went to Bubba's room, which was incredibly tidy for someone his age, and somehow made Marshall feel a little inferior. "Why is your room so clean?" He asked, noticing how there weren't any places that were covered in dust or any form of stain. "I don't know, my mom cleans it for me so I guess that's why." Marshall shrugged, and unzipped his backpack, taking out his teddy bear Hambo along with another stuffed bear and looked up at Bubba with a devilish grin, "You wanna play bear wars?"

After a half an hour of playing Marshall's made up game of 'bear wars' Bubba's mom came in with two plastic cups in her hands, and said, "Drink up! I made you two some homemade lemonade. I made it with my special recipe in honor of our new guest, Marshall." She smiled kindly at him, making Marshall blush. "You know, Bubba has mentioned you quite a lot!" She gushed, carefully watching them as they drank their lemonade. Marshall practically choked, and looked up, staring at her with surprise, "He does!?" She smiled and nodded, now giving Bubba a turn to blush.

After they finished their lemonade, they handed they cups to her, and she smiled kindly, and left. "Your mom seems nice," Marshall pointed out, stuffing the bears back into his backpack, making sure to keep Hambo on top. Bubba nodded thoughtfully and sighed, "She's usually nice, except when she gives me medicine. She's not very nice then." Marshall looked curiously at him and asked, "You need medicine?" Bubba nodded and muttered, "I don't know why I do, I black out or faint whenever I take it..."

He drifted off when he heard footsteps walk across the hall and stand by the door, as if listening to their conversation. After a moment, the footsteps trailed in into another room, leaving them alone yet again. Somewhat creeped out, Marshall asked, "Do you have a TV? I'm bored." Bubba stood up and nodded, and told him to follow behind.

When they reached the living and got to the remote, Bubba's mom seemingly appeared out of nowhere and scolded him, saying, "You know better than to watch TV past sunset. Now please go wait in your room, I'm almost done with dinner." Bubba feeling a surplus of embarrassment, grumbled and apologized to Marshall, and headed back to his room. Marshall was about to follow behind, until she stopped him, gripping his shoulder somewhat tightly. He shied away and turned around to look up at her. She smiled again, and asked, "Did you already have dinner?" He nodded, noticing how tall she was and how long her shadow is, and looked down at the ground. "Well good," she said, "Easier for me!"

After that, Marshall left as fast as he could and tiptoed down the hall to Bubba's room, but was surprised to find that Bubba was sitting carefully drawn in on his bed, looked much paler than he did a few minutes ago. "Hey, are you okay? You look kinda sick." Marshall put a hand to his forehead, trying to feel if he was especially warm, and pulled his hand away, shocked by how overheated he was. He immediately offered to get him some ice or a cold rag, because that's what his mom does whenever he's sick, and tried his best not to panic. "No, please don't, whenever I get sick like this, it just means I have to take my medicine." Bubba stood up, and held onto the wall for support. His legs wobbled beneath him and a sheen of sweat coated his skin, almost making him look like his delicately pink colored skin was melting. "I'll go get your mom," Marshall offered on the way out of the room.

He ran down the hall and nearly collided with her, and in a rush said, "Bubba'ssickandneedsmedicine!" She looked strangely at him and told him to slow down. He took a deep breath, and said slowly, "Bubba's sick. He said he needs his medicine." There was a short flicker of understanding in her eyes, and she rushed to Bubba's room, asking Marshall to hold the plates she was carrying.

After a couple minutes, she came out, holding Bubba in her arms, and quickly said, "I'm taking Bubba upstairs for the night, but please don't come up and see him. He'll need a lot of rest. You can watch TV if you want or something, okay?" A few seconds later, he could hear her walking up the stairs, and shortly after a door loudly slamming behind her. So trying to distract himself from the situation that was hanging over him like a could, he set the plates of what looked like chicken and salad on the nearest table, and went to the couch to go watch some TV.

After a few hours of watching cartoon reruns, and hearing nothing from Bubba's parents, he decided to take a look into Bubba's room, despite Bubba's moms strict warning to do exactly the opposite of that. But hey, wouldn't anyone with a decent heart be worried for their friend and want to see them? As he flipped off the TV with a red power button and flicked on the stairway light, he tried his hardest not to feel bad about what he was doing.

After lightly tiptoeing up the steps, he reached a short hallway, with 1 room in front of him, and 1 room on either end of the hallway. He stopped for a second, trying to listen for any noise that might given away where Bubba was, and made he sure he also didn't hear any whispers. After a few seconds, he heard some snoring on his right, and the quiet whirring of some machine to his left. Hoping he was right, he turned the corner, and entered the room on the left. He wriggled his toes on the soft carpet, and twisted the brass doorknob open. The door opened silently, revealing a barely lit room, with what appears to be a glass casing in the corner connect to multiple machines, only one of them making any sort of noise. Marshall quickly walked over to the glass case, and pulled off the black felt blanket that was covering it, and was completely caught off guard by what he saw.

Inside the glass case, was Bubba, stripped down to his underwear, with multiple needles digging in his arms. After another moment of simply staring, he noticed a strange pink substance floating around in it, being drawn towards Bubba everytime he breathed in. The substance seemed almost like little droplets of something, so tiny and so reflecting that if you didn't look close enough, it looked like little pieces of pink sand.

He felt sick to his stomach, and actually had to hold a hand up to his mouth making sure not to vomit as he saw Bubba like this. He felt a scream rise up through his throat without him noticing it and he put both hands on his mouth. He knew he probably shouldn't be reacting so negatively but what in the world was going on? He began to shiver, and despite the window being open on a chilly night, Marshall knew he wasn't shivering because of the cold.

A few minutes later, Marshall felt like he was being watched, so he of course turned around, making sure neither of Bubba's parents saw what he was doing. When he saw no one, and still heard the soft and steady snores coming from the other direction, he turned back around and continue look curiously at Bubba, wondering what was happening to him. Was he hurt? Was he being experimented on? That was his last thought before he felt a strange shock course through his arm, followed by a sharp dig, and realized there was probably a needle in his arm. He stumbled around, already losing his balance and his vision, and saw Bubba's mom clean the needle off that she just stabbed him with, and quickly stabbed him with another needle, pressing a cloudy liquid into his arm. That was the last thing he remembered as he fell onto the soft ground, feeling a freezing sensation rush through him, and his heart stutter a few times before completely stopping.

**A/N**

**Hello and thank you all so much for the comments and follows, it really brightens my day so thank you so much :) **


	5. Chapter 5

There was something soft beneath him, something like...wool maybe? No, wool was pretty scratchy and this was just...soft. He dug his nails into the material, enjoying the sensation of whatever it was, pleasing his dry skin. He smiled and thought this maybe he was back in his old house, when he used to live with both his parents, and they had such comfortable material draped over every bed and couch. But after a moment, a sour stench reached his nose which seemed to come from somewhere nearby, and he scrunched his face. If he was at his old house, than something was very wrong.

After a couple minutes of trying to not breath through his nose, he noticed that there seemed to be a slimy material covering his chin and part of his arm. What was it? He brought his arm to his noise, and practically gagged when he realized the stench was coming from himself. Did he vomit on himself?

His eyes immediately flew open, and looked around seeing he was lying on some bed, restrained, with several needles poking into his arms and a desktop computer not too far away monitoring his health. He squinted at it, trying to get his sight back in focus, and read, 'Marshall Lee Adabeer now deceased. His death time was 11:19 pm on Friday October 13th.' He frowned, seeing that was clearly false, because he was obviously living and breathing, and even though his tone was little gray, he knew he was probably pretty healthy too. Then he continued to read further, and it said, 'Marshall Lee Abadeer time of resurrection; 4:14 am, Saturday October 14th.'

Wait, wait, what? Time of resurrection!? What did that even mean? He continued to read further, noticing it only listed a few more basic things, like his age and his ethnicity, along with whatever other little facts that were more or less relevant. But when he reached the bottom of the page, he saw something that made his heart stop. In a rather large font it read, 'Marshall, if you're awake and reading this, look in the mirror, I think you'll find something very interesting...' So he did so, twisting his body around to take a good look at himself, and simply tilted his head and blinked. There was nothing. Well, of course there were objects, like the bed and the green painting above him, but that was all there was. No Marshall.

He rubbed his eyes, maybe wondering if he was dreaming. He then pinched himself as hard as he could, and when he noticed he broke skin, he decided he wasn't. Perplexed by the situation and how he couldn't even see himself, he wobbled out of bed, while simultaneously pulling several little needles out of his arms. Little trails of blood dripped down his arm and he couldn't help but notice how attractive the smell was. He brought his arm to his mouth and licked a small bit, and instantly felt euphoric.

Almost drunk off his own blood, he stumbled out of the room and down the stairs, his only coherent thought being 'I want more'. He heard noises not too far off, and a couple of voices, one distinctly younger than the other, but decided he just could care less. So he walked through the hallway through to the front door, and once he got outside, he ran for it. All he wanted was more. Didn't matter where it came from. He just wanted more. Whether it came from an animal or a human, or even a stupid little insect, he just wanted as much as he could have.

After a few minutes of running aimlessly around, he noticed a small squirrel in a tree, comfortably sleeping. He then crept up to it, and made sure to be quiet, sure his meal would run away if he made any noise whatsoever. He leaned over and with one swift movement, he grabbed the squirrel by the neck and started to choke it. He dug his fingers as deep as he could, feeling blood make contact with his hand. He then leaned forward a ripped off a small stick from a tree, getting ready to use it to get to the juicy parts. He twisted it around and practically tore it apart, ignoring it's whimpers and cries, trying to get every last drop of what he wanted. After a few minutes, he tossed his meal aside, its lifeless body stark against the grass, and wiped his mouth, only smudging a splatter of blood along the way.

Then all at once, his thoughts and feelings took over, and he realized what he had done. He had just killed a squirrel and sucked it's blood. He just killed a squirrel and sucked it's blood. He just took a life away, a vulnerable animal at that, and sucked it dry. Even worse, he remembers every second of it. He remembers the way the squirrel stopped struggling in his arms and how it went limp not too long after, and how he just kept going. How he just keep licking and slurping at the blood that was dripping out of its now matted abdomen, and how he just tossed it aside. He felt strongly sick to his stomach, and noticed as he looked down that his skin was settling to paleish grey, and that he looked even weaker than before.

He collapsed onto the floor and began sobbing, digging the heels of his hands into his eyes. His hair was sticking to his face and his back was sweaty, even though the sun was barely up, and the tears the were continuously falling did no help. Everytime he tried to calm down, his thoughts whirled in his main, and all he could do is sit there and cry helplessly. What could he do? He just killed an animal, for no reason at all, accept that he was overly fond of the taste of blood all of a sudden.

So as the sun began to rise and felt like his skin was sizzling off, he heard the roar of his moms familiar car. Why was she here so early? Suddenly a sense of panic rose through him, and he had no idea what to do. His mom was only about 50 feet away, and if he made a run for it now, she'd probably get pretty pissed at him, but if she also saw the blood on his face and clothes, she'd probably get so scared and worried for him, that she'd send him to a mental ward. Not that he'd blame her if she did.

He saw her practically jump out of her car and run towards him, saying, "Sorry I came so early...but I have a job interview and..." She dropped mid-sentence, staring at her blood stained son. He stared back at her, deep into her depthless eyes. Her eyes dropped to his mouth, and noticed all the blood around it, and sighed. She shifted her gaze to his right, and noticed the lifeless creature next to him, its limbs strewn carelessly about. She leaned forward, her face completely swept of emotion, and gripped his arm tightly, digging her nails into him, leaving small and red half moon crescents, and began pulling him to the car. By the time he was basically shoved into the back with a seat belt tightly strapped onto him, he saw Bubba in the rearview mirror running as fast as he could towards the car.

Bubba, of course! Maybe if he could show his mom what experiments they were doing in Bubba's home, she'd realize what had happened to him, or maybe actually understand it, unlike he did, and help him. But as soon as Marshall turned around to stare at Bubba through the trunk window, he saw his parents pulling him back inside, ripping the bag from his hand and tossing the contents over his grass.

As his mom started the car and began to drive, he realized his last memory would be of Bubba holding onto Hambo and crying, and wondered how lonely his life was really going to become.

**A/N Okay so this site is being really idiotic bc this is the 3rd time i've had to post this chapter and it keeps messing it up /3 I really apologize to any of you who had to read the previous version or the one before it. Hope it actually works this time!**


	6. Chapter 6

After the passage of several years, Bubba's learned to cope with losing his closest friend. In fact, after only 7 months he completely forgot his voice, and only after 7 years, he almost forgot how he looked. He vaguely remembered the shaggy black hair and his pale complexion, and how he wrote with his left instead of his right, but beyond that, he couldn't remember a thing.

He supposed it wasn't all that bad, he had other friends, like Fionna for example who was a year younger than him and about to enter her second year of high school, and he even tried being friends with Brendon again for awhile. But even 7 years later, he couldn't help but miss Marshall, and couldn't help but wonder where he went. He didn't know why Marshall had to leave so early that morning, or why he never heard from him or his mother again. He even tried visiting the apartment and knocked on the door to find an elderly couple confused as to why such a young boy was there. He remembered feeling betrayed and abandoned, and was even angry for awhile.

But as life goes on, so does he, and at this moment, he was scrambling to get out of the door on time. "Mom, where are my socks?" He shouted from his room, pulling his jeans on while simultaneously looking for his reading glasses. "I don't know, wherever you set them last!" She shouted back, the loud sound of a plate shattering followed by a string of curses. He sighed, this not being anything new, and after a minute or two, found both his reading glasses and his impeccably clean socks. He shoved them on, shortly followed by a pair of converse, and afterwards grabbed his backpack and ran to the living room.

His mother smiled at him and handed him his lunch, to which he blushed and muttered a 'thank you' before stuffing it into his backpack. She smiled and nodded, before following him out to the car, locking the door behind her. Once they got inside the car, she asked, "So, are you excited to start 11th grade?" The engine shuttered and they lurched forward as they entered the deserted street. "Sort of...I have to take many more AP classes this year though, so I'm kind of scared." He said, feeling nervous enough already that he had to take trigonometry and that he had to retake P.E. She smiled at him and patted his shoulder, "Sweetie, you'll do fine."

The rest of the drive was in silence, as the rusty car rumbled quietly along the streets to A.A.A. High School. But once they got there, Bubba heard subdued talking and saw a small parking lot for student drivers behind a open-gated section. He almost wanted to smile, realizing there'll be only two more years of seeing this left. After a moment, he turned back around to his mom, and gave her a kiss on the cheek and waved before grabbing his backpack and getting out.

Already he saw several people he recognized, but only a few of them he talked to, one of them being his beloved friend Fionna. "Hey! Fionna!" He shouted, waving his hand wildly. She spun around and practically ran into him, giving him an overbearing hug. When she pulled away, she asked, "Hey Bubba! It's been so long! How was your summer?" He smiled, reminding himself he's so lucky to have her as a friend, and said, "It was pretty good actually! I volunteered a little bit and went to some college thing to get you prepared for it. My mom was overprotective as usual. How was your summer?"

She went on and on about how she found this perfect guy and called him her 'Flame Prince' because of his vibrant orange hair and his vivid complexion and how she talked to him, and found out he actually goes to this school. She continued describing what they did and how she's 95% sure he likes her as they walked to their lockers together, saying hi to a couple of people along the way. By the time they actually reached their locker, Fionna was now talking about how they totally exchanged numbers and that he was way hotter than any of the guys Bubba ever liked. "Hey, don't mention that!" He huffed, hitting her shoulder.

As they began opening their lockers, Bubba noticed a few lockers away some guy in a hoodie with shades on that was looking his way. When they both looked at each other, the hooded guy quickly looked away, and Bubba wondered why he even had shades on. Then he probably figured he was a stoner or something. Stoners always wore shades. Not that he knew what every stoner wore, but he knew from enough experience to figure that it was okay to assume this guy was one.

"Hey Bubba, you okay? You seem kinda out of it." Fionna asked, slamming her locker behind her, as they began walking to their first class which happened to be the only class they shared together. "Oh! Yeah, sorry, I was zoning out," He laughed sheepishly. She smiled and then began resuming her topic of this 'Flame Prince' she was probably overhyping. Bubba couldn't help but laugh, normally Fionna was so level headed and so mellow, but he knew from years of experience, that whenever she falls for someone, she can't stop gushing about them. It didn't bother him really, he found it kind of sweet actually. He hoped that her claims about him liking her back were true because he'd honestly be really lucky to date such a kind-hearted girl.

Once they reached their first class, which happened to be U.S. History, they took seats next to each other, and sat near the front, where Bubba liked to sit the best. As the final bell rung and the teacher began introducing himself, a few students rushed in, the last one being that one with the sunglasses from a few minutes ago, who seemed to be staring straight at Bubba. Bubba blushed under his presumably direct stare, and noticed how he had unkempt black hair hidden beneath the hood. Bubba wanted to say he almost looked familiar, but he couldn't place who it was.

Noticing this, the teacher looked at them and said, "Now this isn't the time for staring contests, and _please_ take off your sunglasses and hoodie." Bubba blushed again and looked elsewhere, kind of annoyed that the teacher would say they were having a 'staring contest'. He was already outed as gay, _twice,_ and he didn't want anymore people making fun of him for it either. But he couldn't help but notice the guy took a seat next to him, setting his sunglasses aside and putting his hoody down, revealing a shaggy head of hair and piercing red eyes. Were they contacts? Also why did he look so _familiar_?

Fionna nudged him and whispered, "Already have a crush on the new kid huh?" Bubba's neck snapped towards her so fast he almost got whiplash, and hissed, "Shut up Fionna," not before giving her a good glare that sent her into a fit of giggles. But she quieted down when the teacher announced that he was doing roll call. Everyone went silent except for a few mutters here and there, and the first name the teacher shouted out was, "Marshall Lee Abadeer," which basically made Bubba freeze in his seat.

He turned his head around to look at the guy next to him, and saw him raise his hand and shout, "Here!" This guy, or should he say, Marshall Lee, who just so happened to have disappeared of the face of the planet for 7 years, was now sitting next to him in his History class, looking nonchalant and hot as _shit._ He knew he shouldn't be staring, since this guy used to be his best friend, but how he could he not? He was pretty much any emo girls wet dream, and he for some stupid reason that makes Bubba feel only _slightly_ sexually frustrated, had the first two buttons of his shirt down. But deciding he did not want to be called a "fag" or a "twink" for probably the millionth time in his life, he turned back towards the teacher, and awaited his turn to shout, 'Here'.

After roll call was over, there was about five minutes of time to talk and Bubba turned to Fionna, and poked her. "Yeah?" She asked, eyebrows raised. "Fionna," He whispered, his eyes wide and his body tense, "That guy next me used to be my best friend in elementary school." She looked next to him carefully and noticed he was doodling on his notebook, and noticed how he was a little more attractive than the average student. She turned her head back to Bubba, and gave two thumbs up. "You should be friends with him again," She whispered, glancing back his way. He was about to say something when he felt a poke on his arm, coming from Marshall (still felt so foreign for Bubba to even think of that name).

He froze and turned around, and asked, "What?" He stared at Marshall's finger like it was a dagger, and Marshall said, "You know, I can hear everything you guys are saying." There was a moment of painfully awkward silence, before Marshalls mouth split into a grin and said, "You don't have to whisper behind your back about me Bubba, I'll be your friend again." Bubba nodded, unsure what to say, staring at Marshall, wondering if this was the real deal. "So," Bubba began. "So..." Marshall said after, trying to fill up the awkward space.

"Why have you been gone so long? I mean you sort of just...disappeared." Bubba nervously asked, picking at a string on his shirt. "No reason, we...just had to move. I had a medical condition for awhile, but it's under control now." Marshall said easily, beginning to draw on his hand. "Oh...what kind of medical condition?" Bubba began to wonder if that was the reason his skin looked so grey and he looked so tired. "Nothing really, just some stupid issue." Marshall said again, this time sighing, obviously cutting off the topic.

In that moment as the teacher called them to their attention again, Bubba began to wonder if he and Marshall could actually be friends again. Marshall seemed snappier than he used to be, but he himself could be stubborn so he supposed it was fine. He also kind of hoped whatever stupid little crush he's developing on Marshall will go away, because well...it was hopeless anyways right? Marshall was probably straight just like every guy Bubba has ever liked so it's not like Marshall would be any different. But, he figured until Marshall started buttoning his shirt all the way up, he was probably going to keep liking him. Bubba, with a sigh, slumped over his desk, and realized this was going to be a frustrating year.

**A/N**

**Thank you all a ton for pointing out what I needed to fix and if you still notice more things that need correction please don't be afraid to comment and correct or ask :) I love you all and thank you a ton!**


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